Do you ever wonder how we can possibly hope to live godly lives in a godless culture? I know I do! Larry Osborne has as well and he’s written an excellent book telling us how it can be done.

Thriving in Babylon, Why Hope, Humility, and wisdom matter in a godless culture by Larry Osborne is a very good read. He uses the book (and character) of Daniel as his backdrop.

So much of what he writes resonates with me and is, in fact, things I had been thinking. I underlined, marked, wrote in the margins, shared on twitter, Instagram, and facebook the wisdom I gleaned.

For example, “Don’t we claim to know how the game of life ends? And if we do, shouldn’t that affect the way we interpret and respond to the enemy’s short-term victories and temporary advances?  If our sins are forgiven and our destiny assured, if we are joint-heirs with Jesus, and certain He’s coming back to set all wrongs right, then despair and panic over the latest court decision, or even the steady erosion of morality in our culture, hardly seem like appropriate responses.” (page 102)

In short I really, really liked this book.  I wanted so badly to love it and aside from a few instances I did. But those instances were huge.

For example, The United States of America is a Republic, not a democracy as he states in the book.

The Bible does not say God will not give us more than we can handle. He promises not to give us temptations that no one else has experienced, promises a way of escape and not to tempt us beyond what we can bear.

And finally, Solomon’s sacrifice in Gibeon, God didn’t “look the other way because He knew His heart was right”, He didn’t accept the sacrifice and answer Solomon’s prayer because “Solomon meant well when he sacrificed on the High places.” Solomon sacrificed in Gibeon because that is where the tabernacle was, the ark wasn’t there, but the altar was.

I believe those were oversights, and I believe the author accomplished his goal of sharing with us how we can live godly lives in our culture.  I give this book 4 out of 5 turning pages.

I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse and the publisher for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.